Rochester Regional Health to introduce charges for some MyCare messaging
Starting today, July 17, patients in the University of Rochester Medical Center health system who use the MyChart app may be charged fees for message exchanges with doctors about complex health problems.
Soon, so will users of MyCare, Rochester Regional Health's app.
In a statement, RRH said: “Like many other health care organizations nationwide, Rochester Regional Health anticipates billing for MyCare messages in the near future for requests that require more than a brief response and represent a larger investment of time on behalf of the provider.”
Without offering more specifics, including a date or timeline, it said, “Patients will receive detailed explanations of how that billing will work, when RRH is ready to implement any changes.”
Apps like MyChart and MyCare allow patients to view test and lab results, schedule appointments, request medication refills and exchange messages with their doctors free of charge.
URMC said the MyChart messaging option is for doctors to answer “non-urgent, simple (questions) about existing problems.”
But its providers are now getting more than 2 million messages a year, it said last week, and many involve assessing new health problems or providing complex medical advice requiring physicians “to spend five minutes or more of their time and their medical expertise.”
Nationwide, a number of other health systems that offer MyChart — including Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Cleveland Clinic — have adopted the same policy.
URMC said interactions beyond the scope of non-urgent and simple will be billed to an insurance carrier.
RRH’s statement did not describe out-of-pocket costs. URMC said they will range from nothing for Medicaid patients to around $45 for those covered by commercial insurance policies.
Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester Regional Health to introduce charges for MyCare messaging
